There is a continuing need to keep certain information secure within a computer. For example, many computer operating systems and applications require users to initially and/or periodically generate passwords, which are subsequently used to verify the user's identity. These passwords represent one form of “private data” that preferably needs to be stored within the computer in some significantly secure manner.
Typically, passwords and other forms of private data are encrypted prior to storage, for example, using an encryption algorithm and an associated encryption key. During subsequent retrieval, the encrypted private data is decrypted using a decryption algorithm and the encryption key.
One of the drawbacks to this encrypting/decrypting process is that both the encrypted data and the encryption key need to be stored somewhere within the computer. This presents a point of weakness within the overall security of the private data, since an unauthorized user needs only to determine/locate the encryption key to gain access to the encrypted private data. Hence, passwords and other supposedly secret information files may fall prey to hackers that have gained access to the computer.
Consequently, there is a need for improved methods and arrangements for securing private data.